


So Impossibly Summer

by two_of_swords



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Accidental Drug Use, Background Czeng, M/M, Pynch Week 2018, Summer AU, background bluesey, lifeguard AU, mention of past child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-16 00:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15424677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two_of_swords/pseuds/two_of_swords
Summary: Adam Parrish hates summer and views it as something to be endured until the new school year begins. Ronan Lynch hates summer until he meets a hot lifeguard at Cabeswater Lake.Pynch Week 2018 Day 3: Summer





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm splitting this into two parts so I can post the finished part now only slightly late for Day 3 of Pynch Week. I will hopefully be able to post the rest tomorrow.

Adam Parrish sits rigid in his seat at the top of the lifeguard stand, eyes constantly patrolling the water of Cabeswater Lake. It’s scorching hot and the air drips with humidity, as it tends to do in Virginia in the summer. Adam usually doesn’t mind the heat. On a day like today, though, even he would much rather be in the water, but the first of his many summer jobs calls for him to just sit under the merciless sun and watch other people keep cool. At least he has a nice tan, which is vanity, really, for all he is the only one that seems to notice.

His partner-in-crime, Blue Sargent, lounges dramatically in the seat next to him, one short leg thrown over the side of the stand, hiding under the shade of a polka dot umbrella and big pink sunglasses that clash with her red bathing suit. Her current lazy posture is a product of the excessive heat, not a lack of lifeguarding ability. Adam had seen her in training. She is no stranger to hard work.  _ Though she be but little, she is fierce _ , Adam thinks, with a sigh. He hates summer. He misses school.

“I can’t believe this. Three weeks into the summer and not a single interesting person has stepped foot on this beach. What are we doing this for again?” Blue asks, not even bothering to turn her head in his direction.

“Money,” Adam replies. Unlike Blue, Adam has no interest in a summer fling. He just wants to get in, get paid and get out. He’ll think about romance on the other side. Maybe.

“Oh yeah,” Blue agrees, as if the idea has just occurred to her.

Adam watches a group of teenage boys horsing around on the diving platform in the water out beyond the ropes, where only the older kids and adults are allowed to go. That same group had tried to float a small cooler out there about an hour ago, but Adam had stopped them and told them they could take their chances getting caught with cheap beer once their feet were firmly planted back on the sand. He is just a lifeguard afterall, not a park ranger, though he might tip them off when he takes his next break.

An alarm on Blue’s phone goes off and she groans. “Safety check.”

It’s the worst part of the job. Every two hours they have to make everyone get out of the water for a fifteen minute break and everyone yells at them for it. Adam has a feeling it’s really not going to go over well with the boys out on the platform.

Blue signals the other lifeguards and then blows her whistle. Adam climbs down from the stand and waves in the swimmers, ready for the onslaught of irate parents and kids.

“It’s more dangerous for them to be out of the water than in it when it’s hot like this,” one mother shrieks.

“It’s a safety regulation, ma’am,” Adam explains, knowing she’s probably just mad that she has to stop reading her smutty romance novel and actually watch her kids.

“Well, that’s stupid,” she says, as if that would change Adam’s mind.

As predicted, the teen boys have not moved from the platform. Adam walks through the crowd trudging up the sand to the edge of the water and blows his whistle as loud as he can.

“SAFETY CHECK. GET OUT OF THE WATER,” he yells.

“FUCK YOU!” One of the boys yells back and several others raise their middle fingers in the air.

“IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR BUTTS BACK UP ON THIS BEACH IN 30 SECONDS I’M CALLING THE PARK RANGER,” Blue screams into a megaphone from her perch atop the lifeguard stand. A couple of old women clutch their pearls.

Suddenly scared for their beer, the boys jump into the water and begin swimming back. The better swimmers make it to shore fairly quickly, but there’s one boy who is lagging behind the others. Adam watches him carefully, looking for signs of struggle. He’s halfway to shore when he just stops swimming altogether. By the time his head slips below the surface, Adam is running full speed back to his chair.

“ADAM!!!” Blue shrieks and tosses him his flotation device. He pivots and runs back toward the water. He dives and swims as fast as he can to the spot where the boy went under. He reaches him quickly and pushes him back up to the surface. The boy sputters and takes a huge breath of air.

“Hold onto this,” Adam instructs, pushing the flotation device to the boy. He grasps it clumsily as he tries to keep his head above water. Once he gets his arms around it, though, he floats easily on the surface, his face overcome with relief.

“I’m going to pull you back to the shore now,” Adam says, slipping the strap of the device around his own torso. “Hang on, ok? Do you understand me?”

The boy nods vigorously, but doesn’t speak. His blond curls are plastered to his forehead.

Adam swims furiously, hauling the boy toward the crowd gathering on the beach. When the water is shallow enough, Adam stops swimming and stands up. He helps the boy to his feet, but his legs are wobbly, so Adam ducks under his arm and carries him the rest of the way. The crowd breaks into applause once they are safely back on the beach. 

The boy slumps down to sit in the sand as the other lifeguards gather around. Adam bends over, placing his hands on his knees and trying to regulate his breathing. Then he straightens and searches the crowd for the boy’s friends, but none of them are there.  _ Fucking cowards _ , he thinks.

“What’s your name?” Blue asks in a friendly voice, crouching down next to the boy.

“Matthew Lynch,” He says when he finally catches his breath enough to speak.

“I think your friends left. Is there someone we can call?” Adam asks.

Matthew looks around, confused and scared, then he turns back to Adam. “My brother. Please.”

 

*****

 

Ronan Lynch hates summer. He used to like it when it meant a break from school, but that became less relevant once he decided not to go to college. More importantly, though, Ronan hates the heat. His pale ass simply can’t handle it. Which is really just another reason why he prefers nocturnal activities, much to the chagrin of his roommate and best friend, Richard Gansey. 

Gansey is fuck knows where. The library, probably. Researching or some shit. So Ronan, content as always to snatch sleep during the hottest part of the day, is stretched out on the sofa under the chugging window air conditioning unit with the lights off and the blinds shut. It’s perfectly dark and cool.

Just as his heavy eyelids are sliding closed, his phone starts vibrating violently on the coffee table. He’s instantly annoyed, but because he is also half asleep, he picks it up without thinking.

“What’s up, Matty?” He asks, yawning.

“Uh, Mr. Lynch?” A polite southern voice that is definitely not his brother says on the other end of the line.

Ronan snorts. “Who the fuck is this?”

“My name is Adam Parrish. I’m a lifeguard at Cabeswater Beach. Your brother, Matthew, is here and he had a bit of an incident in the water today.”

Ronan’s heart seizes and he sits up so fast he gets a head rush. “Holy shit. Is he ok?”

“He’s shaken up, but he’s going to fine. He needs someone to come pick him up, though. His friends bailed.”

_ Those fuckers _ , Ronan thinks. He didn’t like this new group of friends Matthew had been hanging out with recently, especially after he overheard them saying some homophobic shit while playing video games the last time he stopped by his parent’s house for a visit.

“I’m on my way,” Ronan growls.

He has to use the GPS on his phone to even find Cabeswater Beach or Lake or whatever the fuck it’s called and then there’s a ten dollar fee to get in. Of course he doesn’t have any cash on him and it takes for-fucking-ever for them to run his card. His knuckles turn white from gripping the steering wheel so hard while he waits and he’s half tempted to just run down the barrier. When they finally hand him back his card, he peels away, spinning tires and spitting gravel.

When Ronan pulls up in front of the main building, he’s relieved to see Matthew, seemingly unharmed, sitting on the steps next to a ridiculously tan and hot and shirtless guy in a pair of red swim trunks. It must be the lifeguard who called, but Ronan already forgot his name.

Ronan throws up the parking brake in what he is pretty sure is not a parking spot and gets out of the car.

“Ronan!” Matthew calls, but he doesn’t get up.

“Hey, kid,” Ronan says as he approaches.

“That’s your brother?” Hot Lifeguard asks. If Ronan is not mistaken, he thinks he hears a hint of awe in his voice. Ronan could be mistaken. He’s not always successful at reading those kinds of signals. 

Matthew nods.

“So what happened?” Ronan asks, nudging Matthew’s knee with his boot. “You look fine to me.”

Matthew just shrugs, so Ronan turns to the lifeguard and raises an eyebrow.

“He was swimming in from the diving platform when he started to struggle. He went under, but I pulled him out of the water before anything happened.”

“Did you forget how to swim?” Ronan nudges Matthew again.

Matthew’s chin starts to quiver. “I don’t know what happened, Ronan.”

“Hey, it’s ok. You’re ok,” Ronan says, reaching to ruffle his brother’s blond curls.

“Uh, can I talk to you for a second?” Hot Lifeguard asks, placing a hand on Ronan’s shoulder to guide him away from Matthew. Ronan eyes his hand and he mutters, “sorry,” and, unfortunately, crosses his arms over his bare chest. As a consolation, Ronan’s shoulder tingles where his hand had been.

“I think your brother may have been under the influence,” he continues. “His friends had a cooler of beer.”

Ronan turns back to his brother. “What the fuck, Matthew? Were you drinking?”

“No, Ronan, I swear,” Matthew says, but for the first time since he arrived, Ronan notices that he’s slurring his words slightly.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Matthew purses his lips, but says nothing.

“We’ll talk about it in the car. Let’s go,” Ronan drags Matthew up by the arm, then turns to the lifeguard. “Thank you for saving my brother.”

“I was just doing my job,” he shrugs.

“You’re so humble.”

“I’m Adam,” he says, and then he looks down quickly, like he hadn’t meant to say anything at all. Ronan thinks he might actually be blushing, but it’s hard to tell with his tan. 

“Adam what? I don’t really like to call people by their first names.”

“How charming,” Adam recovers with a grin. “It’s Parrish. Adam Parrish.”

“Nice to meet you, Parrish.” 

“Likewise, Lynch.”

Ronan feels a little tug in his stomach.  _ Uh oh _ . He slings an arm around Matthew and guides him to the car before he says something stupid. But he can’t resist looking over his shoulder to see if Parrish is watching them walk away with that cheery smile on his face. He is. He even raises his hand and fucking waves.

_ I have to start going to the beach now _ , Ronan thinks. He opens the car door and throws himself into the driver’s seat as Matthew settles into the passenger seat. He runs a hand over his shaved head. “Fuck,” he says. “ _ Fuck _ . I hate the beach.”

  
  


******

 

“That was so amazing, Adam!” Blue says as they walk toward the arcade after their shift to pick up their friend Noah Czerny. “I mean, the way you hauled that boy out of the water.”

“Not just a boy, that dude was a teenager. He was bigger than me,” Adam brags.

“You’re my hero,” Blue says, batting her eyelashes at him. Adam wishes she wouldn’t do that.

They approach the open garage door of the arcade and see Noah leaning across the prize counter, chin resting on in his hands, staring longingly at a group of boys playing the racing game near the back.

Blue follows his gaze. “Ooh, Is that him? Your crush?”

Noah sighs. “Henry Cheng.”

“You finally asked him his name? Nice work, bud!”

“He dropped his ID. But our fingers brushed when I handed it back to him. He’s Canadian,” Noah adds, dreamily.

It reminds Adam of touching Ronan Lynch’s shoulder earlier, but he quickly pushes the thought from his mind. He doesn’t have time to fawn over Lynch and his sculpted arms and his shaved head and his sexy BMW. And he definitely does not have time to think about the tattoo he saw snaking across Lynch's back either.

“Are we done here? We need to go walk dogs,” Adam says. It comes out harsher then he intended and was meant to deflect his own thoughts, but instead Noah’s face crumbles.

“Just because you don’t want a summer fling doesn’t mean the rest of us should have to suffer,” Noah scowls.

“Adam saved someone’s life today, Noah,” Blue says, attempting to change the subject.

“Too bad you can’t save your love life.”

Adam laughs at that and shoves Noah lightly on the shoulder. He grins and everything is fine. 

Noah clocks out, says goodbye to his supervisor and they pile into Adam’s shitty car to drive to their next job.

When Adam finally makes it home to his tiny studio rental after taking four different dogs for their evening walks, he stashes his cash in an empty cereal box under the bed and crosses off the day on the big printed calendar Blue had hung on the wall with their elaborate dog walking schedule. Twenty-two days down, fifty-four left to go. Summer will be over in no time.

 

******

 

Ronan takes Matthew home and only scolds him a little on the way. God only knows what he was doing at Matthew’s age, so Ronan is not one to judge. He shuttles his brother into his bedroom and closes the door before their mother can get to him. She would know instantly that he is drunk.

When Ronan returns to the apartment, Gansey is eating pizza and watching a documentary on Netflix.

“You have any plans tomorrow?” Ronan asks, tossing his keys on the counter and kicking off his boots.

“Not at the moment. Was thinking of checking out that new trail I found. You wanna come with?”

“What if we go to the beach instead?”

Gansey looks up at him, curious. “You know it’s hot at the beach, right?”

“I’m aware. I thought it might be a nice change of pace.”

“What happened to you? Are you possessed?”

Ronan flicks his ear and steals a piece of pizza, before flopping down on the couch next to Gansey.

“Nevermind. It’s definitely you. And what beach do you want to go?”

“Cabeswater.”

“Hmm,” Gansey considers it. He pulls out his phone to do a quick search on his maps app. “I hadn’t planned on exploring that area until later in the summer, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.”

Ronan shrugs. He doesn’t know anything about the goddamn beach. Case in point, he realizes the next morning that he doesn’t even own anything that would be considered swimwear by the general public and he certainly doesn’t have any shoes that are open-toed on purpose. He tries on an extra pair of Gansey’s trunks, but they are way too small and way too bright and way too ridiculous. In the end, he reverts back to his usual attire. The only thing on his agenda is ogling the lifeguard, afterall, and you can do that just as well in jeans and a tank top. He’ll even take his boots off if he has to.

Finally ready, he walks out into the living room and finds Gansey in a polo and cargo shorts and a fucking Gilligan’s Island bucket hat. If that isn’t bad enough, he’s wrestling with some kind of electronic contraption that’s good at finding things.

“Are you seriously bringing that with you?”

“If you insist on making me go to the beach, I’m at least going to make the most of it,” Gansey replies.

This should be interesting, Ronan thinks.

 

******

 

“Ugh,” Blue says. “The geese are back again. It’s your turn to chase them away.”

“What? No!” Adam exclaims. The only thing worse than safety check is the flock of geese that has decided that the lake belongs to them now. They are currently on the march up the beach like Allied soldiers on D-Day.

“Yep. I got them last time. One of them tried to eat me.”

Adam groans and climbs down from the lifeguard stand and immediately stops dead in his tracks. A little ways down the beach, between Adam and the geese, is Ronan Lynch, sweltering in jeans and tank, his bare feet buried in the sand - no beach chair or towel or blanket in sight. The pale skin on his shoulders is already tinged pink and showing early signs of a terrible sunburn developing. Adam pivots and scrambles back up the chair for his bottle of sunblock. He drops it at Lynch’s feet as he passes and then runs, arms flapping, toward the geese. They hiss and honk and flap right back at Adam, but they eventually disperse to the other side of the lake. Lynch smirks as Adam passes by on the way back to the lifeguard stand.

Adam faces forward, eyes on the water, trying desperately to avoid looking in Lynch’s direction. When he finally gives in to the impulse, he sees Lynch strip off his tank top and turn so another handsome boy, also inappropriately dressed for the beach, can help put sunblock on his back. It’s his first full view of Lynch’s tattoo and Adam nearly falls out of his seat. He can’t seem to take his eyes off the pair as the other boy finishes rubbing in the lotion. He feels a sharp pang of jealousy in the pit of his stomach.

“Now that’s interesting,” Blue says, kneeling to look over his shoulder. The other boy picks up a discarded piece of equipment and resumes scanning the sand with it.

“Is that a metal detector?” Adam asks.

“Are those boat shoes?” Blue responds. She continues to stare in awe until Adam waves a hand in front of her face. “I’m going to go tell him it’s not allowed.”

“That’s not an actual rule.”

“It is now,” Blue says, climbing down from her perch.

Blue returns in time for safety check with a huge grin on her face.

“So?” Adam asks.

“He’s surprisingly charming,” she admits.

“I see you did not actually succeed in getting him to stop using the metal detector.”

“I told him he could continue as long as he gave me his phone number.”

“You’re terrible,” Adam says, but at least he has nothing to be jealous about.

“Shut up. I’m smart,” She blows her whistle and starts yelling for the swimmers to exit the water.

A couple of hours later, Lynch approaches the lifeguard stand. Adam sits up attentively. 

“Save any lives today, Parrish?” he asks, holding up the bottle of sunblock to Adam.

“Yeah. Yours,” Adam says, shaking the bottle at him.

“Huh. All I saw you do was chase away some geese.”

“The geese are more dangerous than you think.”

“My hero,” Lynch says, batting his eyelashes at Adam. Adam hopes he never stops doing that.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally posting the rest of this story. Sorry for the delay!

It takes Ronan four days to recover from the sunburn he got before he put on Parrish’s sunblock. He stays busy though, acquiring various items that one needs to actually enjoy a day at the beach. There’s the rainbow striped beach umbrella and matching beach chair - in case he’s been too subtle about his orientation - and then the beach tent, which seems redundant, but necessary in case something goes wrong with the umbrella. He buys beach towels and a cooler and the biggest bottle of SPF 100 sunblock he can find. He even goes to the mall and scours the clearance racks for a pair of swim trunks that he doesn’t hate - because they don’t fucking sell stuff you need for summer during the actual summer - and snags an expensive pair of sunglasses while he’s at it. His older brother Declan is going to flip when he sees the credit card bill.

Convincing Gansey to return to the beach is the easy part. Ronan finds him asleep on the sofa, clutching his phone, for the third morning in a row. It’s not hard to see that those two things are related. The short lifeguard with the megaphone seems to have made quite the impression on him. She wasn’t immediately turned off by the metal detector, so Ronan thinks she must be genuinely interested.

They pack all of their gear in the BWM and head to Cabeswater. Ronan notices Parrish sneaking glances their way as they set up their stuff, but he doesn’t move from his chair. After an hour, Ronan is bored and hot and none of the new gear actually keeps sand from getting in the crack of his ass, so what was the point? He wishes Parrish would come talk to him, but then he thinks that if Parrish hadn’t been so laser focused on doing his job, he might not have been able to help Matthew when he needed it.

Megaphone girl stops by on her break. She squirrels Gansey away for fifteen minutes and they come back giggling and holding hands. Ronan pretends to be napping in his fully reclined beach chair to hide his jealousy.

But then a shadow crosses his face and a toe nudges his calf and he hears the voice of an angel drawl, “you wanna go get some ice cream, Lynch?” He thinks he must be dreaming. He peaks one eye open and sees Parrish standing over him, his head crowned with soft, golden light. Utterly entranced by his beauty, Ronan blurts out the most intelligent thing he can think of in the moment. “What?”

“Ice cream,” Parrish points to the purple graffitied ice cream truck idling in the parking lot next to the arcade and snack bar. “Want some?”

Ronan nods, still befuddled, and then stares when Parrish holds out his hand. He realizes that Parrish is just offering to help him up at about the same time that Gansey snorts and buries his nose in his book, but fuck him for thinking he’s the only one who can get some hand-holding action around here. Ronan takes Parrish’s hand, palm against palm, thumb over thumb, and then surprisingly strong arms haul him up out of his chair. Parrish’s bare chest brushes against Ronan’s upper arm briefly before they separate and he practically swoons.

“Too much sun again, Lynch?” Parrish asks, grinning at him, pushing him lightly on the shoulder where Ronan’s pink skin is just starting to peel.

“Something like that,” Ronan responds. They walk barefoot through the sand and then the grass as they approach the ice cream truck. “Don’t they sell this shit at the snack bar?”

“They used to, but they stopped once  _ Snowy Joey’s _ started showing up and they couldn’t compete. The guy who owns the truck is an asshole, but he does have a better selection. Rumor has it he sells more than just ice cream though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Drugs. That’s what one of the other lifeguards said. I don’t know if it’s true.”

“Well, the name’s real subtle if it is,” Ronan says as they get in line. He likes how close Parrish stands to him as they discuss the merits of the different novelty items offered.

“Lynch!” A booming voice calls out when they reach the front of the line, interrupting their friendly argument over whether the strawberry shortcake bar is better than the chocolate eclair. “Where the fuck you been, man?”

Ronan’s good mood instantly vanishes when he looks up and sees Joseph Kavinsky hanging out the order window. “K,” Ronan says, with a small nod of acknowledgement. He looks over at Parrish, whose face is a mask of confusion.

“I’ve got just the treat for you,” Kavinsky leers. He leans out the window and taps the picture of the Bomb Pop on the crooked laminated sign hanging off the side of the truck. It’s amazing how he can make anything seem lewd. “It’s patriotic, don’t you think? Just the way you like it.”

“No, thanks. I’ll take the Ninja Turtle,” Ronan says, politely. He must catch Kavinsky off guard, because he doesn’t respond with anything prurient.

“How about you, sweetheart?” He asks Parrish.

“Don’t call me that,” Parrish says, coldly. Then he adds, “Sponge Bob.”

Kavinsky stares at Parrish instead of getting their ice cream. “Who’s this, Lynch? I didn’t think tan dudes were your type since you usually only like to go out at night.”

“You don’t know what my type is.”

“Clearly.” He turns and grabs their treats out of the cooler behind him and tosses the packages down on the window ledge. “On me,” he grins.

“No,” Parrish says, pulling a five dollar bill out of the pocket of his shorts and slamming it down next to them. Something about the defiant action thrills Ronan.

“Fine, man. Doesn’t make a difference to me either way,” Kavinsky grabs the money and stuffs it in the tip jar. “Hey, Lynch, ask your brother what he thought of the new stuff I gave him last week, will you? I’m curious.”

Ronan’s blood runs cold. So Matthew hadn’t been drinking afterall. “You fucking piece of shit. Did you sell my brother drugs?”

“I didn’t sell them to him. I just slipped a little something into his ice cream sandwich. You know how your little brother likes to eat.”

Ronan lunges for Kavinsky through the window, but he steps out of reach of Ronan’s grasp and yells, “Proko! Time to go!”

They jump back as the truck lurches forward and speeds away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

“Shit,” Ronan says, picking up the two frozen treats from where they had fallen by the curb when the truck drove away, their packaging now streaked with dirt. He’s certain he’s ruined whatever chance he might have had with Parrish.

But Parrish slips his hand into Ronan’s and says “I’ve still got five minutes left on my break and I’m not letting those go to waste. Come on.” He pulls Ronan over to a picnic table by the treeline. They sit down on top of the table, side by side, unwrapping their ice cream. Parrish laughs and shows Ronan how one of Sponge Bob’s gumball eyes has slid down the front of his face. It makes Ronan feel a little better, since Donatello is nearly beyond repair.

“So,” Parrish says.

“So,” Ronan responds, picking a piece of ice cream out of the wrapper and popping it in his mouth to melt.

“You don’t have to explain.”

“I want to.”

“He’s your ex?”

“Not exactly. I kind of got messed up with the wrong crowd after my dad died a couple of years ago. I used to street race late at night and K was always around, fucking high out of his mind. He wanted me, but I wasn’t even out yet and he was just too much to handle, so I shut him down. Eventually, I got my shit together and moved on. Looks like he never did.”

Parrish nods and then calmly takes a bite out of Sponge Bob’s head. When he finishes chewing his fucking ice cream like a badass, he says “What are we going to do about him selling drugs to kids?”

“I don’t know. I guess I could come here every day and run him off like I did today.”

Parrish’s face brightens. Ronan doesn’t know if it’s because he’ll get to see him every day that way or if he’s just happy to have a plan. “I’ll talk to Park Ranger Gray. See if there’s anything else we can do.”

They finish the rest of their ice cream in silence. Ronan thinks their five minutes is probably up.

“If it makes you feel any better, my last relationship didn’t work out either and I have to sit right next to her for hours every day now,” Parrish finally says.

Ronan tenses. This revelation does not, in fact, make him feel any better. He tries to put some distance between them, but Parrish nudges him with his knee. “I’m bi,” he grins and Ronan relaxes again and nudges him back.

“It didn’t work out for you, but it seems to be working out for Gansey.”

“God, I know. All Blue does is gush about his metal detector and I’m afraid at some point that’s going to become a euphemism for something else.”

“Gross.”

Parrish laughs in agreement. They don’t walk back to the beach giggling and holding hands, but it’s pretty close.

  
  


*****

 

Lynch stays true to his word and shows up every day after that. He starts bringing books with him to keep himself entertained, which piques Adam’s interests when he realizes Lynch is reading classics, some of them even in  _ Latin _ . It  _ does _ things to Adam. It makes him want to push Lynch up against a wall and kiss him, but he contains himself. He has a job to do.

One day, Lynch brings a mesh bag full of beach toys and he and Gansey set out to make a replica of some dead Welsh king’s castle out of sand. Blue explains who it is to Adam as Lynch and Gansey fill bucket after bucket with shovels full of sand, but Adam’s too busy watching the muscles in Lynch’s back and shoulders flex under his glorious tattoo to pay attention to what she’s saying. Adam is impressed by what they are able to accomplish in an afternoon, but before they have time to secure the castle’s defenses, the geese launch a sneak attack that sends Gansey and Lynch running up the beach as all of their hard work crumbles under several dozen webbed feet. Lynch looks at Adam and holds up his arms asking “where were you?” by body language alone. Adam just shrugs and shakes his head. Lynch collapses onto his back in the sand and starts making sand angels and Adam has to laugh because that is a surefire way to get an asscrack full of sand.

Another day, Lynch brings his brother Matthew back and also a remote control drone. Adam’s not even sure if it’s legal or not, but nobody seems to mind and they make friends quickly by giving all the kids on the beach turns at controlling it. It’s a clever strategy because then the children, and the parents, are not as upset when Lynch chases off the ice cream truck again.

They spend Adam’s breaks together at their picnic table laughing and talking and scheming about Kavinsky. Park Ranger Gray stops by and tells them he thinks the local police are going to take down Snowy Joey’s on the Fourth of July and warns them not to intervene. They nod solemnly in agreement, but as soon as Gray walks away Adam grabs Lynch’s hand and squeezes it tight.

“Have you kissed him yet?” Blue asks Adam later that day.

“What? No.”

“God, why not? What are you waiting for?”

Adam doesn’t know. He’s running out of excuses not to.

 

*****

 

A pop-up thunderstorm sends everyone at the beach scrambling for cover late in the afternoon on the day before the Fourth of July. Ronan and Gansey retreat to the arcade to wait for Parrish and Sargent to be done with their lifeguard duties. Ronan challenges Gansey to a turn around the track on the racing game, which Gansey reluctantly accepts, knowing he doesn’t stand a chance. When Gansey bows out after the third loss in a row, a crowd of boys has gathered behind them to watch. Ronan has seen them around off and on the last couple of weeks and assumes they must be summering at the lake with their families.

One of the boys steps up to challenge Ronan. He introduces himself as Henry Cheng and says he’s from Vancouver. Cheng’s better than Gansey, but still no match for Ronan. By the time Parrish and Sargent show up, along with their friend Czerny, Ronan has beaten every single one of the Vancouver crowd.

“Your turn, Parrish,” Ronan says, patting the empty seat next to him.

“Uh, I don’t know how to play video games,” Parrish says.

“Do you know how to drive?”

“Yes, but, it’s not the same thing.”

“Sure it is.”

Parrish gives in and sinks into the empty seat. “What do I do?”

Ronan gives him a rundown of the basics before pushing a couple of quarters into the slot. It’s apparent almost immediately that Parrish is going to be his toughest competition. He learns quickly and can even take his eyes off the screen periodically to study Ronan’s movements. Ronan practically shivers with anticipation from those heavy glances he keeps catching out of the corner of his eye. He beats Parrish the first round, but barely.

“Again,” Parrish says, eyes smoldering with determination. The shiver travels down Ronan’s spine. He nods and drops two more quarters. He sneaks one last look at Parrish while the timer on the screen counts down to the start. Parrish looks back and his intensity breaks for a moment, that cheery smile splitting his face. Ronan feels that little tug in his stomach again like the first time they met. Only this time, he thinks, maybe the tug isn’t so little.

Parrish wins this round and the crowd gathered around them cheers, but they only have eyes for each other.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ronan suggests.

“Yeah,” Parrish agrees. “Let’s go.”

 

*****

 

Adam’s heart pounds the whole time he showers and changes clothes in the lifeguard’s locker room. It keeps pounding as he begs Blue and Noah to walk his dogs for him. It pounds even harder when he sees Lynch leaning against his BMW, freshly showered and changed as well, waiting for him, looking at him.

“Ready?” he asks.

Adam nods and throws his bag in the back seat. He could put it in his own car, but he doesn’t want to be that far away from Lynch any time soon.

They stop at a convenience store for some food, touching each other casually the whole time, and then head for the mountains. Lynch finds a deserted stretch of road that overlooks the valley and pulls over. He spreads one of his beach blankets over a patch of grass, while Adam waits, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot, clutching the bags of food in his hands. They sit next to each other without speaking, shoulder pressed against shoulder, looking out over the valley at the setting sun. They don’t touch the food. The air is thick with anticipation and it’s thrilling and suffocating at the same time.

“Today’s my birthday,” Adam says. He doesn’t know why he says it, he just needs to break the silence. Needs to take action. He looks over at Lynch and Lynch is looking back at him. Adam licks his lips and leans in at the same time that Lynch does. Their lips are soft at first and their kisses light and tentative. Adam braces his arm behind Lynch’s back so he can turn more easily to face him, then he slides his other hand up Lynch’s arm to his face, cupping it gently as the kiss deepens and Adam opens his mouth to allow their tongues to explore.

Eventually, they run out of breath and have to stop. They press their foreheads together and Lynch whispers, “Happy Birthday, Adam.”

Adam grins and then his traitorous stomach growls. Lynch laughs and they pull apart and dive into the food.

“Fuck, Parrish, if I had known, I would have bought a cake.”

“Nobody knows.”

Lynch stops chewing and looks at him. “Why not?”

Adam hesitates. “I don’t have many happy birthday memories.”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“I want to. Just… give me a minute.” Adam finishes his last bite of sandwich and takes a drink of water. “I’ve been emancipated from my parents since shortly before I turned eighteen. My father used to beat me.”

Lynch’s jaw clenches and he looks away.

“You shared something personal once. I wanted you to know this about me.”

Lynch closes his eyes.

“But the good thing is now I have my own life,” Adam continues. “And I can make my own birthday memories and this is a pretty good one. Maybe the best. Thank you, Ronan.”

Lynch cracks a small smile and leans forward to kiss him again.

They clean up the food and lie down together on the blanket, sharing kisses and truths for the rest of the night while fireworks go off in the distance.

 

*****

 

The Fourth is another scorching hot day and the beach is nearly full when Ronan, Gansey and Matthew arrive just before noon. They find a spot near the lifeguard stand where Blue and Adam are already installed for their holiday shift. Ronan looks up at his ridiculously tan and hot and shirtless boyfriend and smiles. Adam smiles back.

Gansey pulls out his metal detector and heads for a section of the beach he hasn’t covered yet. Ronan tries to read for a bit, but the heat is unrelenting and he can’t focus. Sweat is dripping down the small of his back. He kicks Matthew, who is sprawled on a beach towel in front of him, scrolling through his phone.

“Hey, wanna go for a swim?” In all the time he’s spent at the beach so far this summer, he’s never actually gone in the water.

Matthew groans and flips onto his back. “Do I have to?”

“No, but I want you to.”

“What if I get tired again and start to go under?”

“I told you that wasn’t your fault. You were fucking drugged. It’s not going to happen again. But even if it did, Parrish will save you, don’t worry.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Matthew says. They get up and head toward the water.

“Lynch, are you going in?” Adam calls.

Ronan nods and gives him the thumbs up.

“Can you even swim?”

“Fuck you, Parrish! Of course, I can swim. Plus, my boyfriend’s a lifeguard.”

Adam smirks and settles back down into his chair.

Ronan and Matthew make it out to the diving platform with no trouble. They pull themselves up onto the floating dock and look out at the beach just in time to see Snowy Joey’s ice cream truck arrive in the parking lot. Ronan sits and dangles his feet in the water and watches the action. A line gathers at the truck and it seems to be business as usual until four police cars also drive into the lot with lights blazing and sirens blaring. They surround the purple truck and Ronan can practically hear the shocked gasps of the beachgoers as they gather on the sand to gawk at the spectacle. The police lead a cuffed Kavinsky and one of his minions out of the truck and into the back of one of the police cars.

Ronan does a mock salute in Kavinsky’s direction.

Matthew stares, stunned and says, “Is that really happening? I can’t believe it.”

Adam faces forward, still staring out over the water, completely smug and unfazed. Ronan could kiss him.

The comotion on the beach is so loud that nobody hears the lifeguard’s whistle for safety check, so Blue gladly gets out the megaphone and starts yelling.

Ronan taps Matthew on the shoulder with the back of his hand, “Race you back?”

Matthew leaps into the water without answering and starts swimming furiously back to the shore.

“Fucking cheater,” Ronan yells, but jumps in after him.

By the time Ronan reaches the beach, Adam is waiting for him. He nods toward one the buildings, beckoning Ronan to follow.

“I’ll be right back,” Ronan tells Matthew, grabbing his towel off the back of his beach chair. He dries off as he follows Adam around to the back of the building, draping the towel around his neck. When he catches up to him, Adam pushes him up against the wall and kisses him. Ronan winds the fingers of one hand into Adam’s hair and presses the other hand into the middle of Adam’s back, urging him closer, craving skin to skin contact.

“I’ve wanted to do that since you got here,” Adam says, when they finally stop to breathe.

“You read my mind, Parrish.”

Adam pulls away and looks at Ronan and laughs.

“What’s so funny?”

“All this time in the sun and you’re still not tan,” Adam teases.

“Shut up,” Ronan replies and snaps Adam with the towel.

“It’s okay. Tan dudes aren’t my type.”

Ronan wraps the towel around Adam’s shoulders and pulls him in for one last kiss before safety check ends.

  
  


*****

 

The Cabeswater Lake staff throws an end of season bonfire on the night that the beach closes for the summer. Adam plops down in the sand, resting his back against one of the logs someone dragged down to the beach and stares into the roaring fire. The other lifeguards huddle around a keg, pouring watery beer into red plastic cups.

“Parrish, there you are,” Ronan calls from the other side of the fire. He contemplates how to get around it and Adam worries for a second that he’s going to try to jump over it. Finally, he just walks around and stands in front of Adam. Adam reaches out a hand to him and when Ronan grabs it, Adam yanks him down to a sitting position between his legs. Ronan leans his back against Adam’s chest and his head against Adam’s shoulder. He looks up at Adam and asks, “Comfortable?”

“Now I am,” Adam replies and kisses him as best as he can given the awkward position.

Blue and Gansey join them and start making and handing out s’mores.

“Get out of here, Sargent. I can make my own,” Ronan says, grabbing a long metal fork and stabbing a marshmallow with it.

“You just want to stick something in the fire,” Adam drawls.

“You don’t know me,” Ronan replies.

“I know you too well.”

Noah and Henry approach, hand-in-hand and get comfortable on the sand next to them. Ronan waves a flaming marshmallow in their faces. “Want a s’more?” 

Adam is not surprised when they both decline. They’d have to stop holding hands if they did and Henry’s flight leaves in the morning, so he knows that’s not something Noah is willing to do at the moment.

Adam circles his arms around Ronan’s waist and squeezes a little tighter, trying to ward off thoughts of his own impending departure. Ronan leans back, and holds a sticky bit of burnt marshmallow up to Adam’s mouth. Adam licks it off his fingers.

“Gross,” Ronan says, but he smiles and stabs another marshmallow. As long as he has something to stick in the fire, he’s a happy camper.

It’s the last night they will all be together like this, Adam thinks as he watches his friends, both old and new, chat happily to each other, their faces glowing in the firelight. It surprises him to realize that he doesn’t want it to end. Summer isn’t so bad after all. As long as he can have summers like this.

  
  



End file.
